The Keros Hoard: Some Further Discussion

The term “Keros Hoard” was introduced in the literature by Getz-Gentle (formerly Getz-Preziosi) in 1983. This term describes an extensive group of Early Cycladic objects, mostly fragments of marble figurines, allegedly from Kavos, on the island of Keros, a site that had suffered intensive looting before the first rescue excavations in 1963. About half of the original group was in the Erlenmeyer Collection in Basel. The rest, which Getz-Gentle had first seen in the hands of a dealer who was the original owner of the assemblage, had been dispersed to various museums and private collections. Fragmentary material from this “hoard” was first published in the catalogue of the exhibition on the art and culture of the Cyclades in the third millennium B.C.E. held in the Badisches Landesmuseum in Karlsruhe in 1976. The Keros Hoard has been the subject of debate in the past, and discussion has been renewed with the publication of my monograph on the assemblage. The controversy stems from the fact that it consists largely—or as a whole—of material of questionable provenance and authenticity. The suggested date of its looting has also been disputed. The contents of this hoard and the date of its looting are discussed here using evidence from the archives of the Badisches Landesmuseum and the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens.